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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825679">Twice the Promise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarrysLightningRod/pseuds/BarrysLightningRod'>BarrysLightningRod</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Flash (TV 2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Gen, Pregnancy, Prompt Response</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:53:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarrysLightningRod/pseuds/BarrysLightningRod</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry makes a promise to his unborn twins.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barry Allen/Iris West</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Twice the Promise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>Barry still couldn’t believe it. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Hours had passed since they’d come home from Iris’s ultrasound appointment, time that he’d believed would be enough to recover from the most breathtaking discovery: he and Iris were going to have twins. In a matter of months, not one, but two new babies would grace their home. He thought he had already grown accustomed to the idea of being a father after meeting Nora. Surely, nothing could stun him after that. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His insomnia that night proved that he was wrong. He lay in bed next to Iris, his mind racing with all sorts of possibilities and considerations, some happier, such as the imagined faces of his children and the family vacations they’d take together, but others more somber, like the financial burdens a second child introduced and the health risks associated with twin pregnancies, for both infants and mother. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He turned to his left and sighed in relief at the image of Iris sleeping safely and peacefully, pleased that she at least was able to rest. The news had affected her too, she’d first laughed in disbelief before tears took over. Truth be told, he couldn’t distinguish if they were ones of joy or fear, but she’d assured him that she was mostly just very overwhelmed. And who could blame her after everything being with him had put her through? </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Barry reached an arm across her, a silent pledging gesture that he’d always be there for her and would always protect her. She seemed so much more petite in her sleep-he tried to picture how her tiny form would handle two babies growing bigger inside her. His hand moved downward over her stomach, the site where their twins were sheltered beneath, and his protective instinct strengthened. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He found himself sliding down the bed until he was level with her belly, careful in his movement so as not to wake Iris. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey,” he whispered, the urge to speak to his children directly in this moment one that he could not resist. “It’s me, it’s Daddy.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He worried he may be louder than he thought compared to the stillness of the room and softened his tone before continuing: “I just wanted to say hi to you guys. Since I can’t stop thinking about you, I figured I might as well,” he chuckled. “Look at that-you two are already keeping me up and I haven’t even met you yet.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Well,” he considered with a smile, “I guess I have met <em>one</em> of you before.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He remembered how he and Iris had fallen to the floor clutching each other when she told him she was pregnant, the reassurance that they would meet their baby girl again too much to bear while standing upright. They had stayed there for a long time, crying in each other’s arms. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Where have <em>you</em> been hiding this entire time, Buddy?” Barry addressed his son in mock reproach. “You just wanted to surprise us, huh?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Make sure your sister gets used to you from now,” Barry laughed lightly. “You don’t know what it’s like to have a sibling Nora, and he’s certainly not going anywhere…”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He grew solemn, suddenly overcome by the real reason he couldn’t sleep, one that he had trouble confessing: “You’re not going anywhere,” he vowed, choking up, lightly pressing his palm into Iris’s navel, wanting to reach inside and hold his children close to him. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Two babies, his boy and his girl, undoubtedly would bring more happiness, but they would also bring more dread. He could not see them hurt, he could not lose them, he could not experience such pain ever again. He <em>would</em> not.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I will never let anything happen to you,” he swore. “I love you two so much, and I can’t wait to show you how.” He sealed his promise with a light kiss to Iris’s stomach. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I should get some sleep-I’m going to need it from now to keep up with you, Sluggers,” he grinned, tears briefly surfacing at the memory of his father’s nickname for him, at the reminder that his parents would not know his kids, but they quickly dissipated at the conviction that his kids would know his parents. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He kissed Iris’s tummy one more time, ready to rest his head and sleep at last, only to regret it when he noticed her stirring. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Bear?” she mumbled. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Iris, I’m sorry,” he started, feeling guilt at having woken her. “I couldn’t sleep and I just wanted to talk to them-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And I’m so glad I was awake to hear that,” she murmured, her pupils sparkling even in the dark. She reached for him: “Come here.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He obliged, his lips meeting hers tenderly, separating only to press their foreheads together, their eyes still closed. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You also couldn’t sleep?” Barry asked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Iris shook her head against his.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Barry’s eyes flutter open to search her: “You’re scared, too?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I was. I am,” she admitted, her gaze finally on him: “But not as much as before.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Barry squeezed her, relieved to hear this, but still curious and wanting to assuage his own fears: “Why not?"</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Iris nuzzled against him, drifting off into his arms: “Because I know my kids are going to be so loved.” </p>
</div>
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